Old Town

The Old Town Sub-Area Plan and
supporting development regulations were adopted in early 2008. Redevelopment
opportunities for Old Town have been the subject of several community
planning efforts including the American Institute of Architects Regional
Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT), Whatcom Creek Waterfront Action
Program, the City Center Master Plan,
and the
Community Forum on Growth Management.

Old Town is a vital link between the Central Business District and the
waterfront and has been identified as a future urban village in the
Comprehensive Plan, a strategy for accommodating growth. Planning staff
engaged with the community beginning in 2007 to develop a plan for Old Town.
This planning effort looked at the broader Old Town area which includes
parts of the Lettered Streets
and Central Business District neighborhoods, and culminated in drafting and adoption of the Old Town
Subarea Plan.

The Plan is oriented toward encouraging and guiding thoughtful
redevelopment consistent with the vision for Old Town by way of the
following guiding principles:

Provide a policy framework unique to Old Town,

Encourage a healthy mix of diverse and eclectic residential and
commercial uses,

Guide development to encourage a safe, convenient and attractive pedestrian experience,

Ensure new development responds to view corridors and landmark
buildings,

Provide a level of predictability for stakeholders within and
outside Old Town, and

Encourage redevelopment to occur in Old Town.

Subarea Plan

Below are two ways to view the Old Town Subarea Plan. First is the
entire plan, followed by separate sections.

This public artwork was installed in January of 2009 on four pilings along the
Whatcom Creek boardwalk off of Holly Street. Originally part of the public
boardwalk construction, the artwork is a series of stacked concrete "rings"
that include embedded artifacts representing the history of the site. The
artist is Elizabeth Conner of Vashon Island, and the $20,000.00 permanent
piece was paid for from the Public Works Solid Waste Fund.